NHS SIRT in the UK

The NHS England Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) scheme has now closed and patients are not currently eligible to receive SIRT funded by the NHS. The data that have been collected over the past three years are currently being evaluated by NHS England to make a commissioning decision in late 2017 or early 2018. We will include all details on the website when this decision is made by NHS England.

From 1st April 2017, SIRT is no longer available on the NHS for patients meeting the eligibility criteria. Individual Funding Requests can be made by a cancer specialist for patients, but there is no obligation for the NHS to fund such requests.

At present, SIRT is not routinely available on the NHS in Wales and Northern Ireland, but may be accessed as part of a clinical trial or by making an application for its use under exceptional circumstances.

Other ways to access SIRT treatment

SIRT is routinely funded by all the major health insurers in the UK and patients can also choose to pay for the costs of the treatment themselves.

It is important that you speak with your treating clinician to discuss and explore these options if they are available locally.

Alternatively, to contact our specialist team, please click on the contact form and email us directly if you have any queries about accessing SIRT. Since it is important to assess all potential referrals as quickly as possible, we will respond to all queries within 1-2 working days.

What does the NHS say about SIRT?

Recommendations are made to the NHS about what treatments should be used by an organisation called the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has reviewed SIRT for use in patients with liver cancer that has spread from the bowel that cannot be treated by surgery. It concluded that:

SIRT is safe

SIRT can delay the progression of the disease

In some cases liver tumours shrunk so much that they could be surgically removed

More research is needed to understand about improvement in survival and quality of life1

The Christie

The Churchill Hospital

The Freeman Hospital

Freeman RoadHigh HeatonNewcastle Upon TyneTyne and WearNE7 7DN

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The Royal Free Hospital

Pond StreetLondonNW3 2QG

NHS SIRT in the UK

The NHS England Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) scheme has now closed and patients are not currently eligible to receive SIRT funded by the NHS. The data that have been collected over the past three years are currently being evaluated by NHS England to make a commissioning decision in late 2017 or early 2018. We will include all details on the website when this decision is made by NHS England.

From 1st April 2017, SIRT is no longer available on the NHS for patients meeting the eligibility criteria. Individual Funding Requests can be made by a cancer specialist for patients, but there is no obligation for the NHS to fund such requests.

At present, SIRT is not routinely available on the NHS in Wales and Northern Ireland, but may be accessed as part of a clinical trial or by making an application for its use under exceptional circumstances.

SIRT is available through the NHS in England and Scotland for patients with:

Liver cancer that has spread from the bowel where all other routine approaches, such as surgery and chemotherapy, have been unsuccessful

Bile duct cancer patients who have been previously treated

For any other type of cancer an application can be made under exceptional circumstances but there is no obligation for the NHS to fund the treatment.

For patients that meet the NHS criteria above, SIRT can be obtained by a doctor’s referral to one of the eleven NHS approved hospitals that are listed below.

If you find that you are having to wait a long time to be treated with SIRT at your nearest hospital, it is possible for your doctor to refer you to another NHS SIRT approved hospital that may have a shorter waiting list so you can be treated more quickly.

SIRT is not routinely available on the NHS in Wales and Northern Ireland but may be accessed as part of a clinical trial or by making an application for its use under exceptional circumstances. If you are having problems accessing SIRT, you may be able to seek further advice on other options from one of the support groups in the ‘Ask an expert’ section.

What does the NHS say about SIRT?

Recommendations are made to the NHS about what treatments should be used by an organisation called the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has reviewed SIRT for use in patients with liver cancer that has spread from the bowel that cannot be treated by surgery. It concluded that:

SIRT is safe

SIRT can delay the progression of the disease

In some cases liver tumours shrunk so much that they could be surgically removed

More research is needed to understand about improvement in survival and quality of life1